Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #66

[JerseyGirl]

NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, wife cope with coronavirus in Aspen

Jimmie Johnson and his family took every precaution to avoid the coronavirus. They washed their hands frequently, diligently followed the face-mask guidelines and even left their home in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the less densely populated Aspen.

And yet both Johnson and his wife still tested positive for the virus this week — knocking the seven-time NASCAR champion out of what was expected to be his final Brickyard 400.

Johnson is the first NASCAR driver to test positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 and it will end his streak of 663 consecutive Cup starts. It’s also temporarily disrupting his family life as he and wife, Chani, attempt to quarantine while still raising their two daughters. Both girls tested negative, Johnson said.

Johnson was in Indianapolis on Wednesday to test on Dallara’s simulator. He then flew back to Aspen and was scheduled to return to Indy for Sunday’s race.

He didn’t have an inkling anything was wrong until Friday.

Chani Johnson had been experiencing seasonal allergy symptoms in the summer mountain air, and the 44-year-old Johnson was using a routine prescription to treat his own seasonal issues.

Chani Johnson, a “rule follower” her husband said, went for a coronavirus test because of the allergies. Her results came back positive Friday morning and Johnson and their daughters immediately went for their own tests.

The good news is doctors believe Johnson’s wife already endured the worst of COVID-19. Johnson said aside from a tickle in his throat, he’s asymptomatic.

But the ramifications reverberate around the racing community.

Johnson said he has spoken with representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of a contact tracing initiative and continues to seek out answers to a litany of questions. One thing he’s not certain about is a positive test for antibodies he said he received early in the pandemic.

“I was warned by my physician then that although I did test positive for the antibodies, there’s a 20% chance that it’s incorrect,” Johnson said. “On top of the fact that they don’t know what the antibodies mean. Still today, I don’t know what they mean.

“Once I clear this and go back into life, I assume I still need to be very cautious and I could be re-infected once again. There are just so many questions regarding this virus and what means what. I still don’t have clarity. The longer I get into this and the more issues I deal with, the more questions I have.”

He can’t return to racing unless he’s free of symptoms and has two negative tests in a 24-hour span.

 

[tresir2012]

Maybe THIS is our “new normal”

Well haven't we all been living with it since March anyway? This is our regular normal now. It's not new anymore and will continue till a vaccine is available or we have herd immunity.

I think American, United and Delta are flying that route, American would stop at DFW/Dallas TX United would stop at IAH/Houston and Delta would stop ATL/Atlanta GA.

I thought all commercial flights require a mask so there may be no choice.

 

[Sundog]

Coronavirus infects second dog in US, officials say

 

[Sundog]

Some state legislators in Mississippi are publicly disclosing that they tested positive. Hope they all do okay.

Mississippi gov awaits coronavirus test results after ‘numerous' state House members contract virus

 

[tresir2012]

At this point, my only concern is for the Secret Service agents - at least one of whom is likely driving Kimberly Guilfoyle and Don Jr back home from SD, I think (last time I checked). The privileged will do what they want - it's always the employee who suffers for a buck as well as for the duty they cherish.

If they any sense they would have one of the infected Agents drive them back.

 

[Sundog]

De Blasio blames NYC weekend violence on coronavirus, vows to 'double down' to keep city safe

 

[tresir2012]

Some state legislators in Mississippi are publicly disclosing that they tested positive. Hope they all do okay.

Mississippi gov awaits coronavirus test results after ‘numerous' state House members contract virus

Pity they weren't doing Zoom and social distancing.

 

[tresir2012]

De Blasio blames NYC weekend violence on coronavirus, vows to 'double down' to keep city safe

Oh dear. A 7 year old shot?

"Meanwhile, New York City Police Department Chief Terence Monahan weighed in on the violence, agreeing that the surge in violence over the weekend was due to “a combination of things,” including the COVID-19 pandemic, but also pointed out the court system being shut down and new reforms in the city, such as bail reform.

“A lot of different individuals are on the street that should not be on the street,” Monahan said Monday, noting that inmate releases from Rikers Island due to COVID-19, bail reform and the newly imposed ban on chokeholds contributed as well.

“It has our cops hesitating to enforce some of those quality-of-life issues,” he said, noting that police do not have a problem with the ban on chokeholds, but that other language in the new legislation makes it difficult for officers to make arrests, including using their knees on a suspect’s back.


CUOMO RIDICULES NYC MOVE TO STRIP $1 BILLION FROM NYPD FUNDING

“The animosity toward police out there is tremendous,” Monahan said. “Just about everyone we deal with is looking to fight a police officer when we make an arrest, so it is vital that we get communities together supporting and speaking up for police.”

He added that “the vast majority support our police,” and that the force needs “to know from the communities how they want their communities policed.”


“It is unacceptable the amount of violence we had this weekend,” he added. “We have to deal with the guns on the streets and find new ways to get them.”

De Blasio also added that the court system not functioning due to coronavirus is causing a backlog for the NYPD.

Meanwhile, de Blasio and Monahan were asked if police officers were pulling back due to the New York City Council’s decision to the NYPD by $1 billion last week."

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Coronavirus: Sean Doolittle has thoughts on MLB return during pandemic

https://twitter.com/BrodieNBCS/status/1279838856603287552

 

[Sundog]

If they any sense they would have one of the infected Agents drive them back.

Or if they are using plexiglass or other partitions for social distancing. I read that Uber is doing this.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Mountainside Fitness CEO says gyms will remain open during pandemic, plans to head to court

I drove by on Saturday - parking lot filled to capacity.

Well that was quite the rant about the republicans and the governor.

ETA: OMG, that video gets more hilarious the longer it drags on.

 

[JerseyGirl]

The mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, said she was left "begging" for help with insufficient coronavirus testing as her state experiences a fresh wave of cases after reopening its economy.

"We are in a crisis related to testing. I was visiting a testing facility this weekend, people waiting—still—eight hours. It's really, really difficult," she told ABC.

"I've been spending time begging everyone from Walgreens to open up testing, out-of-state testing companies to come in because it's awful to see people waiting in a car while you're feeling sick.

"People were running out of gas. And this is as many months in. We've asked FEMA if they could come and do community-based testing here.

"We were told they're moving away from that, which feels like they're declaring victory while we're still in crisis mode."

https://www.newsweek.com/arizona-phoenix-coronavirus-testing-crisis-mayor-gallego-1515583

Despite rising test positivity rates across some states, including Texas and Florida, which shows an accelerating spread of infection, President Donald Trump claimed the rising number of cases was down to a large-scale testing effort.

"New China Virus Cases up (because of massive testing), deaths are down, 'low and steady'," Trump tweeted on Sunday. "The Fake News Media should report this and also, that new job numbers are setting records!"

 

[Sundog]

WHO alters timeline to indicate it first learned of coronavirus from Internet, not Chinese officials

The WHO previously said its first knowledge of the coronavirus stemmed from an alert issued by the Wuhan municipal health commission, the AFP noted. However, the timeline modification now clarifies that the first notification came from the WHO's Beijing office rather than from Beijing authorities.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Look our New Hampshire!

Trump to hold campaign rally in New Hampshire on Saturday

The rally is scheduled to take place at the Portsmouth International Airport at 8 p.m. ET, and "there will be ample access to hand sanitizer and all attendees will be provided a face mask that they are strongly encouraged to wear," the campaign said in a news release.

The event will be held at an airplane hangar at the Portsmouth International Airport. Some of the crowd will be inside the hangar and, depending on the size of the crowd, it will overflow onto the tarmac outdoors, the source said.

New Hampshire Party Chair Ray Buckley, however, said in a statement Sunday:

"Trump is flying in for a political rally that will only further highlight the chaos he has caused. Trump's response to the COVID-19 crisis has been chaotic and woefully inadequate, resulting in thousands of Granite Staters contracting the virus and hundreds of lives lost, while causing significant damage to our state's economy," Buckley said.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who was an adviser to the White House medical team under President George W. Bush, said that Trump is "clearly flirting with disaster" by holding rallies and attending events without wearing a mask. "Just because he's tested frequently -- (it) isn't a Superman cape. He can get the virus. The more he flirts with this, the higher the likelihood that he'll get it." Reiner said that due to the President's age and weight, "he probably has close to a 20% chance of dying if he contracts the virus."

 

[KALI]

In so. California, around me, things were going boom until after midnight. My 85 lb German Shepherd was seriously freaked out. For hours and hours he kept trying to sit on me. Of course, I let him, and gave lots of hugs.

This is the reason that Colorado keeps having public fireworks despite our dry as dust summers. It professionally siphons off at least some of the enthusiasm for things that go "boom." I like fireworks, but I am very glad that I don't have any noise phobic dogs right now.

 

[SoCalDavidS]

The more he flirts with this, the higher the likelihood that he'll get it." Reiner said that due to the President's age and weight, "he probably has close to a 20% chance of dying if he contracts the virus."

But there's still a 99% chance he won't have any problems.

 

[10ofRods]

Airlines do not have to mandate masks or empty middle seats. It's just a recommendation. Feds refuse to mandate it.

And, if you follow American news, especially travel news, you know that some airlines (American, I'm looking at you) have given up altogether on asking people to wear masks and do not have distancing on planes.

Airlines have the right to refuse a passenger their flight if they don't follow airline policies and airlines can have policies of their own.

United, Delta, SwissAir and Alaska Airlines have all announced their own mask policies, which is enforceable by the airlines. Many more airlines are expected to follow suit this week. American has heard the criticism and while it apparently is still packing planes, it has said it will require masks in future. Traveler pictures continue to show maskless people on various planes, but the policies are still being brought into place so hopefully there will be an improvement. (Flyertalk.com is a good resource).

Airlines can require masks as a matter of business policy.

It's expected that more airlines will be adding this announcement to their ticketing process. There's now a coalition of airlines signing on to shared policies, in the absence of any mandates from the Department of Transportation.

American is back to trying again, after a month of hit and miss enforcement on some flights and kicking people off other flights. However, no word about whether American will reinstitute its middle seat policy, which it dropped recently.

 

[weepingangel]

NFL
NFL teams getting coronavirus info from Twitter, not from league (reports)
more
Not sure what exactly the NFL’s plan for coming back during the coronavirus outbreak is? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. NFL teams themselves are reportedly in the same boat.

According to reports from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio andSports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the league’s communication regarding COVID-19 safety guidelines has been lacking -- at best.

 

[10ofRods]

Interesting. My DH uses budesonide, not via nebulizer but added to his NeilMed nasal rinse that he uses daily to help with his allergy/sinus problems.

Be sure to read up on steroid use and CoVId, specifically asthma inhalers. scholar.google.com is where I'd start but regular google will give you a sense of the research.

There are deep concerns about steroids making CoVid worse. The guy in the link (who is not conducting research) probably has mostly mildly symptomatic patients (N-14, no one died, so he thinks it's his Rx that did it). But larger scale studies certainly made the asthmatics in my family (me included) stop thee steroids. I will take it up again with my doctor when I see her, but right now, I'm just doing bronchial dilators, not steroids.

 

[weepingangel]

Black residents of Plymouth, Worcester counties 4 times more likely to contract coronavirus

Massachusetts More at link
In June, data from state health officials showed that Black and Latino people have the highest COVID-19 positive case rates in the state.

The Massachusetts’ COVID-19 Health Equity Advisory Group said that the rates of Black and Latino residents are three times higher than white residents.


On Sunday, data from the Centers for Disease Control Prevention obtained by the New York Timesshowed even higher rates of disparity among certain counties. Black residents in Plymouth and Worcester counties are more than four times as likely to contract COVID-19 compared to white residents.